It’s almost as though this outrage is stirred up by people with nothing better to do that her their knickers in a twist about Apple, while everyone else either buys an iPhone if they like them, or doesn’t I’d theh don’t. All without any drama.

Ok we get some complaints every year but not to this extent. Everyone is giving off about it and rightly so it’s ridiculous.

Have they? I’ve seen very little discussion of the prices, especially if compared to last year.

It’s true that the £1k phone fuss seems so 2017. These prices are blatant profiteering but Apple probably thinks that super high prices is now the only way they can keeping growing because the Chinese are coming. The Asians are dominating the budget and mid range sectors with value for money handsets that Apple can’t seem to match at those price points. So only the top end is left for Apple where brand counts more than price.

Ok we get some complaints every year but not to this extent. Everyone is giving off about it and rightly so it’s ridiculous.

Have they? I’ve seen very little discussion of the prices, especially if compared to last year.

It’s true that the £1k phone fuss seems so 2017. These prices are blatant profiteering but Apple probably thinks that super high prices is now the only way they can keeping growing because the Chinese are coming. The Asians are dominating the budget and mid range sectors with value for money handsets that Apple can’t seem to match at those price points. So only the top end is left for Apple where brand counts more than price.

I assumed it was more to do with the costs of the tech in the phone.

But if you actually know otherwise, would like to talk us through some more detailed analysis of Apple’s margins on the iPhone X/XS compared to other profits to demonstrate this “blatant profiteering”?

If not, it’s probably safe to assume you’re just trotting our the usual cliched and unfounded criticism of Apple. Just because something is expensive doesn’t make it “blatant profiteering”.

Ok we get some complaints every year but not to this extent. Everyone is giving off about it and rightly so it’s ridiculous.

Have they? I’ve seen very little discussion of the prices, especially if compared to last year.

It’s true that the £1k phone fuss seems so 2017. These prices are blatant profiteering but Apple probably thinks that super high prices is now the only way they can keeping growing because the Chinese are coming. The Asians are dominating the budget and mid range sectors with value for money handsets that Apple can’t seem to match at those price points. So only the top end is left for Apple where brand counts more than price.

I assumed it was more to do with the costs of the tech in the phone.

But if you actually know otherwise, would like to talk us through some more detailed analysis of Apple’s margins on the iPhone X/XS compared to other profits to demonstrate this “blatant profiteering”?

If not, it’s probably safe to assume you’re just trotting our the usual cliched and unfounded criticism of Apple. Just because something is expensive doesn’t make it “blatant profiteering”.

There aren't any figures for the XS yet. Depending on who you believe the X costs $360 or $412 which gives Apple a Gross Margin of 60 to 65 percent.

The iPhone 8 plus costs $289 and has a gross margin of about 67 percent.

Apple would say your not just buying the hardware but the brand and experience. I don't have a judgement as to whether that's a fair margin.

Ok we get some complaints every year but not to this extent. Everyone is giving off about it and rightly so it’s ridiculous.

Have they? I’ve seen very little discussion of the prices, especially if compared to last year.

It’s true that the £1k phone fuss seems so 2017. These prices are blatant profiteering but Apple probably thinks that super high prices is now the only way they can keeping growing because the Chinese are coming. The Asians are dominating the budget and mid range sectors with value for money handsets that Apple can’t seem to match at those price points. So only the top end is left for Apple where brand counts more than price.

I assumed it was more to do with the costs of the tech in the phone.

But if you actually know otherwise, would like to talk us through some more detailed analysis of Apple’s margins on the iPhone X/XS compared to other profits to demonstrate this “blatant profiteering”?

If not, it’s probably safe to assume you’re just trotting our the usual cliched and unfounded criticism of Apple. Just because something is expensive doesn’t make it “blatant profiteering”.

There aren't any figures for the XS yet. Depending on who you believe the X costs $360 or $412 which gives Apple a Gross Margin of 60 to 65 percent.

The iPhone 8 plus costs $289 and has a gross margin of about 67 percent.

Apple would say your not just buying the hardware but the brand and experience. I don't have a judgement as to whether that's a fair margin.

Without knowing your source, many reported estimated prices are for parts only and don’t include assembly costs and labour. Plus there’s transport costs and overheads (store and HQ employees, energy costs, rent, taxes etc.) on top of that.

Ok we get some complaints every year but not to this extent. Everyone is giving off about it and rightly so it’s ridiculous.

Have they? I’ve seen very little discussion of the prices, especially if compared to last year.

It’s true that the £1k phone fuss seems so 2017. These prices are blatant profiteering but Apple probably thinks that super high prices is now the only way they can keeping growing because the Chinese are coming. The Asians are dominating the budget and mid range sectors with value for money handsets that Apple can’t seem to match at those price points. So only the top end is left for Apple where brand counts more than price.

I assumed it was more to do with the costs of the tech in the phone.

But if you actually know otherwise, would like to talk us through some more detailed analysis of Apple’s margins on the iPhone X/XS compared to other profits to demonstrate this “blatant profiteering”?

If not, it’s probably safe to assume you’re just trotting our the usual cliched and unfounded criticism of Apple. Just because something is expensive doesn’t make it “blatant profiteering”.

I agree that high prices don't necessarily mean profiteering but let's be realistic here, I read comments by several pundits stating that Apple is testing the market to see what they can get away with. These comments were reported widely last year so it's not news. I personally believe that the prices should not be so high and that loyal Apple fans are being exploited. The problem is that Samsung and others have joined the high profit party!!

Found a useful CNBC link on what analysts think about the pricing. Doesn't necessarily back up what I say but KeyBanc Capital Market's comment is in line with my thinking.

"Apple's iPhone event continued its strategy to leverage pricing to extract margin from the least elastic portions of the market. We believe this will largely work through FY19, but believe it will be challenged in FY20, unless the Company can introduce new features beyond screen size that consumers demand. Higher than-expected pricing drives a slight increase to our estimates. Our Sector Weight rating is unchanged."

If someone wants to pay 1500 quid for a phone then good on them, my only problem with it is Apple have now opened the door for everyone to charge that for a "premium" handset.

It isn't that long since a flagship phone cost £500.

It’s getting to the point where handheld devices cost more than desktop computers.

Is that unreasonable. There is probably more tech in a phone than in a desktop computer. Miniaturisation has always had an associated cost. And at the end of the day a lot of people use their phone a darn sight more than their computer.

If someone wants to pay 1500 quid for a phone then good on them, my only problem with it is Apple have now opened the door for everyone to charge that for a "premium" handset.

It isn't that long since a flagship phone cost £500.

It’s getting to the point where handheld devices cost more than desktop computers.

Is that unreasonable. There is probably more tech in a phone than in a desktop computer. Miniaturisation has always had an associated cost. And at the end of the day a lot of people use their phone a darn sight more than their computer.

Yes it is unreasonable, a phone is absolutely no where near as powerful as a desktop and miniaturisation has been the key to cost saving for years now, any associated smaller is dearer is marketing bullshit.

If someone wants to pay 1500 quid for a phone then good on them, my only problem with it is Apple have now opened the door for everyone to charge that for a "premium" handset.

It isn't that long since a flagship phone cost £500.

It’s getting to the point where handheld devices cost more than desktop computers.

Is that unreasonable. There is probably more tech in a phone than in a desktop computer. Miniaturisation has always had an associated cost. And at the end of the day a lot of people use their phone a darn sight more than their computer.

Yes it is unreasonable, a phone is absolutely no where near as powerful as a desktop and miniaturisation has been the key to cost saving for years now, any associated smaller is dearer is marketing bullshit.

My iPhone has a much better camera than my Mac. And it’s far more convenient to take on a walk in the country.

Point being, I don’t think it’s particularly helpful or insightful to compare a phone with a computer, based on the single metric of power.

Back in the day I could easily have spent several hundred pounds on things like point and shoot cameras, a mini disc player, a handheld games console, a mobile phone, a Satnav...

That I can get, by order of magnitude, better versions of each of those, in a single device, that does 101 other things through various apps, that I get good use out of almost every day for a few years, then to me a good smartphone to me still represents good value, relative to what I might have had to spend on things in the past.

Ok we get some complaints every year but not to this extent. Everyone is giving off about it and rightly so it’s ridiculous.

Have they? I’ve seen very little discussion of the prices, especially if compared to last year.

It’s true that the £1k phone fuss seems so 2017. These prices are blatant profiteering but Apple probably thinks that super high prices is now the only way they can keeping growing because the Chinese are coming. The Asians are dominating the budget and mid range sectors with value for money handsets that Apple can’t seem to match at those price points. So only the top end is left for Apple where brand counts more than price.

I assumed it was more to do with the costs of the tech in the phone.

But if you actually know otherwise, would like to talk us through some more detailed analysis of Apple’s margins on the iPhone X/XS compared to other profits to demonstrate this “blatant profiteering”?

If not, it’s probably safe to assume you’re just trotting our the usual cliched and unfounded criticism of Apple. Just because something is expensive doesn’t make it “blatant profiteering”.

I agree that high prices don't necessarily mean profiteering but let's be realistic here, I read comments by several pundits stating that Apple is testing the market to see what they can get away with. These comments were reported widely last year so it's not news. I personally believe that the prices should not be so high and that loyal Apple fans are being exploited. The problem is that Samsung and others have joined the high profit party!!

Found a useful CNBC link on what analysts think about the pricing. Doesn't necessarily back up what I say but KeyBanc Capital Market's comment is in line with my thinking.

"Apple's iPhone event continued its strategy to leverage pricing to extract margin from the least elastic portions of the market. We believe this will largely work through FY19, but believe it will be challenged in FY20, unless the Company can introduce new features beyond screen size that consumers demand. Higher than-expected pricing drives a slight increase to our estimates. Our Sector Weight rating is unchanged."

Ah! You’ve read things by pundits, that other sites have repeated? Because neither pundits nor dozens of other sites ever try to put Apple in as negative a light as possible? Or get anything wrong about Apple?

Fact is, the gross margin (ie just for parts) on the X was something like 64%, compared to 59% on the 8.

By the time you factor in higher R&D for the X with its new stuff like Face ID, and fixed operating costs for plant, staff etc, then it seems unlikely that it is commanding an unusually high profit margin at all.

And others aren't? The Galaxy is only about £100 less, and uses an OS that was given away for free by Google, and an off the shelf CPU and GPU. The iPhone uses it's own proprietary OS, CPU and GPU, all of which Apple had to pay to design, test and build.